Our site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience, if you choose to continue then we will assume that you are happy for your web browser to receive all cookies from our website. If you would like more information, please visit our cookie policy page.

If someone, usually an airport or air traffic control provider, wants to
request a permanent change to the UK airspace structure, they must submit an
airspace change proposal to the CAA. Any such proposal will go through our
airspace change process, which requires a series of stages to be
completed before it is submitted to us for a decision. Our airspace change process guidance document (CAP 725)
explains the process.

We have also recently published an information pack to provide greater clarity for interested parties
on certain elements of the current airspace change process.

A new airspace change process

We are introducing a new airspace change process in 2017. More information
on how we will change the process can be viewed in our consultation response document. The new process takes into
account responses we received to our
March 2016 consultation. The proposals in this consultation were in turn
based on recommendations made in an independent study we commissioned from management and technology
consultants Helios.

The Government policy and criteria against which we assess airspace change
proposals have not changed.

We are currently drafting guidance to supplement the new process to replace
our current guidance. We will consult on this in Spring 2017.

Transitioning to the new process

We are going ahead with transition arrangements as outlined in the
consultation document. With this in mind, sponsors should now be considering
what additional action may be required to align their proposal with the new
process. We will discuss individual cases with the sponsor concerned and
publish any agreed position.

Where the sponsor is on the cusp of where we draw the line between the old
and new process, we will need to be flexible. Equally, sponsors who start an
airspace change proposal before the new process and associated guidance are
adopted should demonstrate to us that they have the new process in mind and
have taken it into account, even if we are not requiring rigid adherence to the
new process until the revised guidance is in place.

We are bringing some changes into effect immediately. This follows several
major airspace change proposals in the past three years, and an internal review
of the way we currently manage airspace change work. These process changes can
be characterised as codifying existing best practice so that this is applied
consistently. For more information please see Chapter 5 of our consultation response document.

Stages of the current airspace change process

We meet with the organisation that is considering proposing an airspace change to discuss their plans, the operational, environmental and consultation requirements for proposing a change and set out the how the CAA process will run.

The organisation that is considering proposing the airspace change begins to develop design options and researches who needs to be consulted.

They will also conduct an initial environmental assessment of the proposals which will need to be more detailed if, and by the time, the organisation proceeds and with its proposal and prepares for consultation.

It is recommended that the organisation invites a cross section of parties who may be affected by the change to form a Focus Group to help with the development of the design options.

The organisation that is considering proposing the airspace change decides on the most appropriate consultation method needed to reach all consultees. This could include a written consultation, questionnaires or surveys, using representative groups and open/public meetings. We will provide advice to the organisation on the scope and conduct of the consultation but it remains their responsibility to ensure that the appropriate level of consultation is undertaken.

Consultations should normally last for at least 12 weeks with consideration given to longer timescales where feasible and sensible. Consultation documents should be clear about the objectives of the proposal, what is being proposed, how the change would affect various stakeholders, the expected advantages and disadvantages of the proposals to all stakeholders, the consultation process and the scope to influence.

If a single design option is being consulted upon, the document should state what other options were considered and why these were discarded.

When the consultation is launched the organisation that is considering proposing the airspace change should make every effort to bring it to the attention of all interested parties.

The organisation must ensure that accurate and complete records of all responses are kept. Following the consultation, the organisation collates and analyses all responses to identify the key issues and themes.

There may be airspace design modifications in light of the consultation responses which results in the need for further consultation. The organisation is required to publish feedback consultees. If the organisation decides it will submit a formal airspace change proposal to us to then its feedback document must include information on how the final decision on the option selected was reached.

In addition to publishing the feedback report the organisation sends all the consultation responses to the CAA within its formal proposal submission.

We undertake a detailed assessment of the proposal and may ask for clarification or supplementary information from the organisation requesting the change.

Our assessment covers

the operational need for, objectives and feasibility of the changes proposed

our analysis of the anticipated environmental benefits and impacts if the change were made;
and

an assessment of the consultation carried out by the organisation proposing the change and of the responses received to that consultation.

Our conclusions in these three areas inform our decision whether to approve or reject the proposal. When making our decision the law requires us to give priority to safety but then to balance the need for the most efficient use of airspace with the needs of operators of aircraft and the environmental effect of aviation (including noise and Co2 emissions). The means by which we assess and balance the environmental impact within our decision making process is set out in government policy which we implement.

We aim to make our decision within 16 weeks of having all the information we need.

If a change is approved then changes to airspace procedures and structures are timed to start on internationally specified dates which occur every 28 days. This ensures that the aviation community, as a whole, is aware of the changes and can prepare.

The organisation that proposed the change should publicise the airspace change to members of the local community and other stakeholder groups who were consulted earlier in the process.

Around 12 months after a change is implemented we will start a review of the change to assess whether the anticipated impacts and benefits, set out in the original airspace change proposal and decision, have been delivered and if not to ascertain why and to determine the most appropriate course of action.

Once complete we will publish the review on our website.

This process is based on Ministerial Directions given by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Defence (under section 66(1) of the Transport Act 2000) dated 2001, amended 2004, the CAA’s duties set out in Section 70 of the Transport Act 2000
and environmental guidance given by the Secretary of State for Transport under section 70(2)(d) of the Transport Act 2000.